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The Repeal (Health Care Reform)

Each time I think of the mandated Health Care Reform, it reminds me of a sign I saw in San Antonio, TX near the Alamo. The sign said:

BOOZE IS THE ANSWER.

I AM SORRY WHAT WAS THE QUESTION?

From the start the issue was misunderstood and therefore the submitted resolution was doomed to failure. The question was and still is, how do we provide Health Insurance for millions of Americans who are uninsured and in some cases underinsured.

The reason we have a Health Insurance issue is because most Americans have coverage which is connected to their employment. Some of the uninsured are no longer employed and Cobra is too expensive. Others are employed but their Health Insurance is too expensive and simply cannot afford it.

It is not Health Care that needs reform. It is the cost, access, and availability of Health Insurance that needs reform. Philosophically Health Care is no different than determining which car to buy. However, one must first have money or access to make that decision. In this case money or access inclusive of applicable discounts will enable my fellow Americans to purchase Health insurance.

Health Care, is the availability of Medical Goods and Services including buildings and equipment whose sole purpose is to preserve, maintain, and prolong good health and ultimately life. Health Insurance is the free or affordable access to Health care.

Health Care reform as currently constituted is an unproductive provision resulting from the misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the real need. As in any examination in school or in the hospital operating room, if you answer the wrong question or diagnose the problem incorrectly, the result will be unproductive and you will fail to deliver according to expectations.

Americans who had perfectly good Health insurance are unhappy. Simply put they did not need any intervention or tampering with their choice. Americans who did not and still do not because they simply cannot afford it are outraged because Mandate is not the answer. For those who are having a problem with the word Mandate, the kindergarten definition is Order.

Millions of Americans are without Health Care because they cannot afford Health Insurance. Law Makers found it smart legislation to mandate or dictate that people buy Health Insurance and that if they do not purchase coverage they will be fined. Said fines will be collected via Annual Tax Returns. Seems to me that such logic is tantamount to going from the ridiculous to the sublime.

The logic of such legislation says that if John Brown cannot afford Health Insurance for a mere $20 then we should fine him $30 for not being able to afford coverage and we should keep checking and fine him $30 each time we discover that he has not purchased coverage. How interesting, I thought the Health Care debate was about providing coverage and not mandating action or levying fines on people who are already broke.

The last time I looked in the Random House, Heritage, or Oxford English Dictionaries the concepts of Mandate and Provision were very different. Perhaps, the Webster Dictionary has them as being the same. In essence we went to the table to talk about providing health insurance and left mandating health care. We went to discuss the circle and left talking about the Square.

Health Care Reform as currently constituted is a failed investment in time, 20,000 pages of unrequited remedy, and a demonstration of ineffective Governance 101. As a book the foreword would be, “How to go from the ridiculous to the sublime”. The summary would probably be, how to answer the wrong question and generate unproductive results.

The question was and still is, how do we provide Health Insurance for millions of Americans who are uninsured and in some cases underinsured. The time is right for the Republican Administration to Repeal Health Care Reform as is constituted and develop a constructive provision. Keep it simple, probably 20 pages.

Somewhere along the way Journalism and perhaps Law School determined that numerous pages of verbiage is the way to address and explain resolution to important issues. Fortunately, the opposite is true and has withstood the test of time. In essence, Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS).

In addition, you need to determine how much and what involvement should Insurance companies have in the development of the ultimate document. If Insurance companies are given a major role in the crafting of the ultimate document, it will fail to deliver consistent with the real need of the people. Do not expect Insurance companies to assist in the legislation of equitable and in some cases free Health Insurance for the people. Yes, in some cases based on a means test or affordability scale some of my fellow Americans will receive free Insurance and Health Care. And why not. If you can go abroad and provide free Health Care, then why not do it for our citizens. Charity begins at Home.

No Insurance company is about to craft legislation that will take money out of their pockets willingly. That is just not good business practice. However, this matter is not about the business of Health Insurance. It is about the people and their need for affordable Health Insurance devoid of complicated verbiage.

Now is the time to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Timing is everything. The Republican Party and the newly elected Administration must seize the moment and act accordingly.